Flexible collapsible handle with concealed hardware



G. W. BUSH June 3, 1969 FLEXIBLE COLLAPSIBLE HANDLE WITH CONCEALED HARDWARE Filed Oct. 30, 1967 //l V/Vf0/fi GEORGE w. BUSH y United States Patent 3,447,194 FLEXIBLE COLLAPSIBLE HANDLE WITH CONCEALED HARDWARE George W. Bush, Haddonfield, N.J., assignor to Philadelphia Handle Company, Inc., Camden, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 655,029, July 21, 1967. This application Oct. 30, 1967, Ser.

Int. Cl. B65d 25/28 US. Cl. 16-115 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 655,029 filed July 21, 1967, and relates to collapsible handles of the type wherein the arched carrying position and flattened noncarrying position is attained by the flexibility of the handgrip portion rather than by pivotal connections of the handgrip portion to the carrying case.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a flexible collapsible handle of the character described with a means to slidably attach the handgrip adjacent its ends to the wall of a carrying case that not only assures nonseparation of the handgrip from the attaching means during assembly upon a carrying case but also during shipping and handling prior to such assembly.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flexible collapsible handle of the character described in which the handgrip is in the form of a softer sheath with a stiffer leaf spring therein and means, including members extending through slots in the sheath and spring adjacent the ends of the handgrip, to attach the handgrip to the wall of the carrying case, each member including a crosshead whose length and width each exceed the width of the slot to prevent accidental separation of 'the members from the handgrip.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flexible collapsible handle in which the attaching means includes members extending through slots adjacent the ends of a tubular handgrip and crossheads on the members traversing the slots in the assembled position, the attaching means including screws extending through the wall of the carrying case and further means to restrain rotation of the screws so that closure nuts can be readily tightened thereon.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent as the following description proceeds in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the handle showing the flattened noncarrying position thereof;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the raised position of the handle;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary group perspective view illustrating the assembly of the handle.

Specific reference is now made to the drawings wherein'similar reference characters are used for corresponding elements throughout.

The handle is generally indicated at 10 and includes a handgrip 12 and attaching means 14 which is generally concealed in both the flattened noncarrying poistion shown in FIG. 1 and the arched carrying position shown in FIG. 2. The handgrip is formed of a sheath whose ultimate construction is tubular and comprises a base having end walls 16, a bottom wall 18 and side walls 20 and a stepped recess 22 peripherally around the upper edges of'the side and end walls. A pair of slots 24 of predetermined length are cut through the bottom wall and are spaced inwardly of the end walls 16. The sheath base is made of a flexible relatively soft material such as vinyl plastics and the like, suitably colored and textured.

Extending lengthwise of the sheath base is a fiat leaf spring 26 which-is stiffer than the sheath base and preferably made of spring steel. It is preferably substantially coextensive with the sheath base and includes slot 28 shaped like, substantially as large as, and in registry with the sheath slots 24.

The attaching means comprises shanks 30 consisting of an upper smooth portion 32 and a lower somewhat narrower threaded portion 34, a plate 36 secured on ,the shank, as by stamping, between the smooth and threaded portions thereof, and a crosshead 38 whose length and width each exceed the width of the slots 24. The longitudinal axis of the plate 36 traverses that of the crosshead and at a predetermined location the plate 36 carries a depending pin 40 for a purpose soon to appear.

The assembly is indicated in FIG. 6. The steel spring 26 is positioned in the sheath base against its lower wall '18.- The shanks 30 are extended through the registered slots 24 and 28, turned so that the crossheads 38 traverse the slots, and the plates 36 are stamped in place on the shanks beneath the sheath base. A cover 42 is provided which peripherally engages the recess 22 and is appropriately sealed therein to complete the sheath and render it tubular in form. The cover can be suitably laminated with a decorative veneer before it is sealed in place in the handgrip. Nuts 44 are made to engage the threaded shanks 34 and the handgrip including the mounting means is shipped as such ready for assembly on a carrying case. Because the crossheads each have lengths and widths that exceed the width of the slots 24, 28, the mounting means cannot accidentally separate from the handgrip. After the nut are removed, the shanks 34 and pins 40 are made to extend through preformed holes 46 and 48 respectively in the carrying case wall 50 and the nuts 44 are remounted upon the shanks '34 and screwed home, the engagement of the pins 40 in the holes 48 acting to restrain rotation of the screw relative to the nut not only during mounting but also during use.

When the handgrip is arched upwardly as shown in FIG. 2, the sheath and spring flex and the smooth shanks 32 engage the outer ends of the slots 24, 28. If the slots are spaced inwardly of the end walls 16 of the handgrip at predetermined distances, the lower edges 52 of the end walls 16 can frictionally engage the case wall and releasably retain the handgrip in its arched carrying position. Finger pressure downwardly on the handgrip will act to flatten it against the wall in the noncarrying position shown in FIG. 1.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has here been shown and described, a skilled artisan may make minor variations without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A collapsible handle comprising a flexible elongated handgrip having an outer tubular soft sheath and an inner stiifer leaf spring, said sheath including bottom, end and side Walls, a recess in the peripheral edge of the end and side walls opposite said bottom wall and a cover fitting into said recess and sealed therein to complete said sheath, slots in registry through one wall of said sheath and leaf spring adjacent the ends of said handgrip and means to secure said handgrip to a carrying case including members extending through said slots having crossheads disposed within said sheath whose length and width each exceed the width of said slots.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the peripheral edge of said sheath opposite said one wall is recessed, and a soft flexible cover fitting into said recess and being sealed therein to complete the sheath.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means fur- Cir ther includes a shank having a smooth portion beneath said crosshead and a threaded portion beneath said smooth portion, and a plate fixed to said shank adjacent the separation between said smooth and threaded portions and adapted to bear against a wall of a carrying case, said threaded portion being adapted to receive a closure nut.

4. The combination of claim 3 and a pin depending from said plate adapted to engage in an aperture provided in a wall of a carrying case so that said crosshead is fixedly retained crosswise of said slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 670,492 3/1901 Gould l6-l15 1,958,587 5/1934 Mitchell et a1 16-115 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner. DORIS L. TROUTMAN, Assistant Examiner. 

